Fools Rush In
by cleotheo
Summary: Frustrated by the lack of progress in the war, Sirius Black makes a rash decision and drags Harry and Ron into his plan. However, he doesn't realise that danger lurks closer than he thinks and that his actions could bring about the end of the war far sooner than anyone had ever imagined. Short eight part story. Dark Hermione! Dark Dramione!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – As regular readers know, I love a Dark Hermione story so for the foreseeable future, Mondays and Fridays will be dark days where I publish my dark stories. So updates for this will be Monday and Friday.**

 **This story is a bit different for a dark story in the respect that it only has 8 chapters. Most of my dark stories are fairly long, but I am also trying to do some smaller ones. This particular piece was originally going to be a Tales from the Dark Side, but by the time I'd finished what would have been the collection piece, I had the entire story in my head so I carried on and turned it into a multi-chapter fic.**

 **Time wise this is set during seventh year – but a lot of things have ran differently (all of which will be explained over the course of the story). I hope people enjoy Fools Rush In.**

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A couple of days into the Easter break of their seventh and final year of Hogwarts, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were ensconced in the front room of Grimmauld Place, headquarters of the reformed Order of the Phoenix, playing a game of chess. Neither boy was particularly gripped by the game, but it was better than sitting around doing nothing. Truth be told they were bored, and they wanted some action. Their other best friend, Hermione Granger, had chosen to go home and see her parents over the holidays, so the boys were pretty much on their own for the next couple of weeks. Of course they could have spent their holidays at Ron's family home, The Burrow, but they were hoping that if they stayed at Headquarters with Harry's godfather, Sirius Black, they might get to see some action.

Not that there had been much action since Voldemort's return at the end of the boys fourth year. Not everyone had believed Harry when he said the dark wizard had returned, but Albus Dumbledore had been among those who had believed him and he'd reformed the Order with witches and wizards who were either loyal to him or had been part of the original Order during the first war. Harry had then expected their numbers to grow as the rest of the wizarding world discovered Voldemort was back, but it just hadn't happened.

Since his return, Voldemort hadn't made any large attack or publically made it known he was around. There had been minor skirmishes and even a breakout from Azkaban, but nothing large enough to get the public believing they were in any danger. The bloody war the Order had been preparing for had failed to materialise, and as such all the Order could do was wait and try and gather intelligence on what the dark were planning.

The Order's big weapon was supposed to be Severus Snape – a former Death Eater turned spy for Dumbledore. Snape had confirmed The Dark Lord's return hours after Harry had reported the news, but apparently since then he hadn't seen the dark wizard again and had no idea what he was planning. Harry and Ron suspected that it meant Voldemort trusted Snape as much as they did – which was not at all. However, Dumbledore had a different view and he was becoming increasingly convinced that the ritual Voldemort had used to restore himself hadn't worked properly, which was why nothing had happened and why Snape had never seen him after the day of his return. Still, it was merely a theory, and without proof, The Order were still on high alert, just waiting for Voldemort and his Death Eaters to attack.

"I am so bored," Ron muttered. "Maybe we should have gone to The Burrow after all. At least there we could go flying."

"We could always leave once Sirius comes back," Harry replied, agreeing with Ron that Grimmauld Place was not living up to their expectations of excitement.

Since Grimmauld Place was in the middle of London, muggle London at that, the boys were pretty much confined to the old dusty house. It may have only been a couple of days since they arrived, but they were already starting to go stir crazy and it didn't help that Sirius had gone off out yesterday evening and hadn't returned. His best friend, and their former Defence Professor, Remus Lupin, suggested he'd spent the evening with a lady friend, but they wouldn't know for sure until Sirius returned.

As if talking about him summoned him up, the boys heard the front door open and Sirius ordering the portrait of his mother to be quiet when she started screeching. Mrs Black ignore her son and continued to shout, but Sirius ignored her as he poked his head into the front room where the boys were sitting.

"Just the people I wanted to see," Sirius said with a grin. "Is there anyone else around?"

"Mum poked her head in earlier, but she then went to do some shopping," Ron replied. "I think Remus is around somewhere."

"I think he's up in the library with Tonks," Harry supplied. "Should I go and get him?"

"No, what I have to say is for your ears only," Sirius said, keeping his voice down low as he entered the room and quietly shut the door behind him. "I know the pair of you want some action, and I'm about to give you some. However, it has to stay between the three of us. I doubt Dumbledore and some of the others would approve of what I've done, and what I'm planning on doing."

"What have you done, and what are you planning on doing?" Harry asked his godfather.

"You'll see," Sirius replied. "But before I take you into my confidence, I need your word that this stays between the three of us. No-one can find out what we're doing. We can tell everyone if my plan works, but until then, it's a secret."

"We won't tell a soul," Harry vowed and Ron also promised his silence.

"In that case, let's go now before anyone can stop us," Sirius said. "One of you jot a quick note saying we're going to Diagon Alley and we'll be back this afternoon."

"We're going to Diagon Alley?" Ron asked in dismay as Harry summoned some parchment and jotted down the note to leave for the rest of the Order. Diagon Alley was hardly thrilling, and it was somewhere Ron had been numerous times in his life.

"No, that's just where we're telling people we're going," Sirius replied with a smirk. "You'll soon find out where we're really going. Now are you ready, or what?"

"We're ready," Harry said, propping the note up on the table where they'd been playing chess. "Let's go."

Excited that they were finally getting some action, Harry and Ron grabbed their coats and followed Sirius out of the front door. Once they were clear of the house, Sirius took hold of them both and whisked them away from London. When they landed, the boys found themselves outside of a dilapidated cottage on the coast. There looked to be no more houses around for miles, and the entire area seemed deserted.

"What are we doing here?" Ron asked.

"And where exactly is here?" Harry added.

"This is an old cottage belonging to my family," Sirius replied. "When I was younger, we used to come here for weekends by the sea."

"I hope the place was nicer back then," Ron muttered.

"The cottage was, but its location has always been secluded," Sirius replied. "More often than not we didn't see another soul while we were here. Regulus and I used to love having the beach to ourselves."

"Somehow I don't think you brought us here for a trip down memory lane," Harry said to his godfather. "Especially as the place has long since seen better days."

"You're right, Harry," Sirius replied with a smile. "I've got something you might be interested in inside the cottage."

Harry and Ron exchanged baffled looks as Sirius waved his wand to disarm the protective wards he'd placed around the cottage. They then followed the older wizard into the dark cottage, wondering what surprises awaited them. What they didn't expect to find was a lone chair sitting in the centre of the room, with a bound Draco Malfoy sitting on it. Draco's head was lolling to one side and he looked to be unconscious, but other than that he seemed unhurt.

"Bloody hell, Sirius, what have you done?" Ron gasped at the sight of his most hated enemy tied up in Sirius's possession.

"It was a spur of the moment thing," Sirius admitted with a shrug. "I spent last night with a friend, and this morning I popped to Diagon Alley to grab some hangover potion. The shop I usually use didn't have any, so I went into Knockturn Alley. I saw Malfoy exiting one of the shops, and he seemed to be alone. Next thing I knew, I'd knocked him out and this was the only place I could think of bringing him. If I'd taken him to Dumbledore, he likely would have made me let him go."

"But what do you hope to achieve from kidnapping Malfoy?" Harry asked. "Don't get me wrong, it's great to see him at such a disadvantage, but his father will be furious. He won't stop until he gets him back."

"I don't intend to keep him," Sirius replied. "I just intend to use him to get the information we've been sorely lacking."

"You expect him to talk?" Ron asked. "I think Malfoy is a big of a coward as they come, but I don't think he'll tell us about You-Know-Who. He'll probably not know anything, anyway."

"He knows things," Harry said, disagreeing with his best friend. "After all, it appears Voldemort is staying with the Malfoys. He might not be privy to the dark's plans, but he will at least know what state Voldemort's in. Although I do agree with Ron about Malfoy not talking. His loyalty is to the dark, and he'll know he'll be in more danger if he betrays them. We can hurt him, but I don't think we'll break him."

"I have no intention of breaking him," Sirius said. "I agree that he'll likely not talk. My plan is to infiltrate Malfoy Manor as Draco. I'll be in there just long enough to find out what state You-Know-Who's in. After all, no-one's going to suspect Draco in his own home."

"You're going to use polyjuice potion to get into Malfoy Manor as Malfoy, and have a nose around?" Harry checked with his godfather.

"I am," Sirius replied with a grin. "I'll get the information we need, and I'll be out of there before they even know what's happened. We can then just obliviate Malfoy, and set him free. We'll have some vital information, and the dark will have no idea how we've played them."

"That's brilliant," Ron gushed, beaming widely.

"It sounds dangerous to me," Harry said warily. "No offence Sirius, but you don't know Malfoy. You don't know how to act like him. You could arouse someone's suspicions without even realising it. Maybe Ron or I should do the infiltrating, at least we could pass ourselves off as Malfoy easier than you."

"No, I won't let either of you take that risk," Sirius said with a stubborn shake of his head. "Ron's parents would kill me if they found out I'd let him go into the heart of the dark side, and you're too important to risk, Harry. It has to be me."

"But Harry's right," Ron argued. He didn't really fancy posing as Malfoy himself, but he could understand where Harry was coming from saying it would be easier for one of them to pull off. "How can you possibly expect to fool the people closest to Malfoy when you don't know him?"

"That is where you two come in," Sirius replied. "You're going to spend the rest of the day giving me a crash course in Draco Malfoy. Come tomorrow, we'll be ready to put the plan into action and I'll know enough about him to fool even his parents. Dumbledore still has his pensieve at my place, so we can use that so I can view your memories of him and really get under his skin."

"And what about Malfoy himself?" Harry asked, glancing over at the blond who still appeared to be unconscious.

"No harm will come to him here until tomorrow," Sirius replied with a shrug.

"And what about tonight? What happens when he doesn't go home?" Ron asked. "His parents will be looking for him, and they might be able to track him down."

"We'll send a note, informing them he's staying with a friend overnight," Sirius answered. "It's not ideal, but it should keep them from sending out a search party."

"Okay," Harry said with a nod, his mind already going over the plan and looking for weaknesses. "We can use Zabini as an alibi. Malfoy's friendlier with him than the other Slytherins, but his family doesn't have close connections to the dark. If we used someone like Nott, Crabbe or Goyle, the Malfoys might know he's not with them."

"I'll leave that to your judgement," Sirius said. "All we need now is some hairs from our prisoner. We can grab some polyjuice potion from Knockturn Alley on the way home."

"Is pulling his hairs out going to wake Malfoy?" Harry asked as he approached the blond wizard.

"No Potter, I'm already awake," Draco drawled, opening his eyes and lifting his head. "And I heard everything."

"So?" Ron questioned with a shrug. "You can't do anything about it."

"You're right I can't," Draco replied with a slow smirk. "But I can tell you that you're going to fail." Turning his head, Draco focused on Sirius. "It doesn't matter how much Potter and Weasley can tell you about me, they don't know me well enough to give you the information to fool those closest to me. If you do this, you're dead. I just thought I'd give you a friendly warning, since we're family."

"You're no family of mine," Sirius snarled. Whipping out his wand, he pointed it at Draco and shot a spell at him that had the blond wizard falling back into unconsciousness.

"Do you think he's right?" Ron asked as Sirius roughly yanked several hairs from Draco's head.

"He's just trying to stir the pot," Sirius said. "But even if he is right, I think it's worth the risk. We've got nothing, and we're getting no information from anywhere. We're just guessing what the dark are up to. For all we know, they've folded in a heap and are no threat. But on the other hand, they could be preparing for war. I say we take this risk. At the moment, it's all we have."

"I agree with Sirius," Harry said. "We need to do this. We're just going to have to give him every scrap of information we can about Malfoy, and show him all our memories. Hopefully no-one will pay him that much attention when he's at the manor and he can be in and out without any fuss."

"That's what I like to hear Harry, positivity," Sirius said with a smile. "I think we're done here, so let's go."

Harry and Ron took one final look at the unconscious Draco, before following Sirius out of the cottage and back into the spring air. Sirius once again warded the cottage so Draco couldn't escape, before he escorted the two boys back to London where they picked up some illicit polyjuice potion, before heading back to Grimmauld Place to spend the rest of the day preparing Sirius for the task that lay ahead. By the end of the day he was going to know everything about Draco Malfoy, and they all hoped it was going to be enough for him to head to Malfoy Manor, find out what they needed to know and get out again without being rumbled.


	2. Chapter 2

Standing in the dark recesses of The Leaky Cauldron, Sirius took a few deep, calming breaths. He was merely seconds away from taking the polyjuice potion and heading to Malfoy Manor. He'd spent hours the previous day, studying Harry and Ron's memories of Draco and finding out everything he could about the blond Slytherin. He now felt as though he had enough information to successfully pose as the teenager, but he was still nervous. There was a risk to what he was doing, and he knew that if he was caught, he would be killed. However, he was trying to think positively and he refused to dwell on the potential pitfalls of his plan.

Knowing the longer he stood there, the more nervous he was getting, Sirius pulled out the bottle of polyjuice potion and downed the foul mixture. Within a couple of minutes, he had a transformed from a thirty something dark haired man to a seventeen year old blond teenager. With Harry and Ron's help, he'd already transfigured the clothing he was wearing that morning into something Draco would wear, and he had the blond's wand in his possession.

"Here we go," Sirius muttered, stepping from the shadows and approaching the public floo networks.

The plan was to floo to Malfoy Manor, as they couldn't think of any other way to breach the well protected home of the Malfoys. Unless the wards around the manor were even more intricate than Sirius suspected, the polyjuice potion and the presence of Draco's wand should get him into the house. Thankfully, they were enough and after leaving Diagon Alley, Sirius found himself transported to a fireplace in Malfoy Manor.

Stepping out of the flames, Sirius looked around at the room he had landed in. The room looked to be a small library, with shelves full of books lining every wall and an area of comfortable looking chairs and sofas in the corner around another fireplace. Sirius was guessing that the library wasn't the main one in the house, so he came to the conclusion that it was likely Draco's personal library. Harry and Ron had told him that Draco often boasted about the house he lived in, and according to the boys he'd once bragged that he had his own personal wing of the manor. Knowing a bit about rich, pureblood families, Sirius could well believe Draco had his own wing, and it would appear that was where he'd landed.

Knowing he had no time to waste, and that he wouldn't find the answers he needed in Draco's library, Sirius slipped from the room. He found himself in a long corridor with no sign of any stairs leading to the heart of the manor, so he randomly turned to his right and began his search there. After peering into a couple of rooms which didn't seem to get used very often, Sirius found himself standing in the doorway of what was clearly Draco's bedroom. Despite knowing he wouldn't find the information he wanted in the room, Sirius couldn't help but enter the room. After all, he did have a second bottle of polyjuice potion in his pocket, so he could spare a bit of time to look around.

The room was decorated in green and black, and Sirius was unsurprised to find it had a very Slytherin feel to it. Even if he hadn't known Draco was a Slytherin, he would have guessed so thanks to his bedroom. A large king sized bed dominated the room, a walk in wardrobe was partially open revealing plenty of clothes and there were several chests of drawers dotted around the room. Over beside the large window was a desk, and to the side of the desk were shelves with trophies and other momentos from Draco's childhood.

Sirius didn't inspect the entire room, but he smirked when he eyes fell on a pile of clothes laid out on Draco's bed. Chuckling at the thought of Draco having his clothes set out for him like a child, Sirius stepped forward, but then frowned as he found the clothes on the bed were not men's clothes. The dark trousers and deep red top were female clothing, as were the lacy black bra and matching knickers.

As he considered the clothes on the bed, Sirius became aware of noise coming from behind a door on the far side of the room. Cocking his head, he realised the sound came from a shower. Clearly whoever the clothes belonged to was having a shower in what he assumed was Draco's en-suite bathroom. Harry and Ron hadn't mentioned Draco being involved with anyone, so Sirius's curiosity was raised. The information about who Draco was involved with could prove valuable, so Sirius decided it was his duty to try and find out the identity of the witch in the shower.

A quick flick through the clean clothes revealed nothing, nor did a quick scout around Draco's bedroom. With no clues as to the identity of the witch in the shower, Sirius found himself edging towards the partially open door. Feeling slightly awkward, and just a bit guilty, Sirius carefully poked his head into the bathroom to try and get a peek of the mystery witch. What he found was a large glass shower in the corner of the room, with the witch in question standing under the hot water. With the steam his view wasn't perfect, but he could make out the witch had long dark hair. From the angle he was at, he couldn't see her face, but he could make out the curves of her body and he was embarrassed to find Draco's body reacting to the glimpses of the witch's breasts, long legs and pert backside.

Hurriedly backing away, Sirius turned and hurried out of the bedroom before the witch spotted him and things got awkward. Going back the way he had come, Sirius put thoughts of the naked witch out of his head and slowly the body he was in relaxed and returned to normal. Very aware that he wasn't alone in the part of the house he was in, Sirius hurried through the corridors and the first time he came to a flight of stairs he ran down them.

For an age, Sirius wandered through the manor, poking his head in dozens of rooms but not finding anything interesting. As he went he kept an eye on the time, and just before his dose of polyjuice potion was about to wear off, he drowned his second bottle. He now had one hour to find out something useful before he was forced to leave the manor and return to the Order, so Sirius picked up the pace of his searching.

Less than five minutes after taking his second dose of potion, Sirius found himself on the ground floor. However, before he could even decide where to start, one of the large ornate doors nearest to him opened and Lucius Malfoy emerged.

"There you are," Lucius said with an annoyed tut. "Get in here, Draco."

With no other choice, Sirius walked past Lucius and into the room the blond wizard was gesturing to. The room was clearly a study of some sort, although Sirius didn't get a chance to really take in the opulence of his surroundings as his focus fell to the dark haired wizard sitting behind a large dark wooden desk. Sirius had never been in the presence of Voldemort, despite fighting against him and his followers in the first war, but he knew without doubt that was who was sitting in front of him. Although, sadly he did not look ill or in any way lacking, he looked strong and dangerous, and Sirius knew he would have to tread carefully to avoid trouble.

"Ah Draco," Voldemort said, a ghost of a smile flicking over his features. "My daughter is not at all happy with you. You've got some grovelling to do if you want to get back in her good books."

Sirius nodded dumbly, trying not to let the shock he was feeling show on his face. The Order had no idea that Voldemort even had a daughter, although Sirius would make a guess and say she was curvaceous brunette in Draco's shower. The fact there was a daughter of Voldemort's, and the fact she was seemingly involved with Draco, was big news and Sirius knew it was more important than ever to get back to the Order safely. Even if he found out nothing else, it wouldn't matter as the knowledge he did have was explosive.

"Anyway, I didn't bring you here to discuss your private life," Voldemort continued. "Sit down so we can talk. Since you weren't around last night, I couldn't get your opinion."

"On what?" Sirius asked as he sat down in one of the seats in front of the desk and Lucius sat in the other one.

"Hermione," Voldemort replied. "The time is fast approaching when we need to act. Which do you think's better, a kidnapping or faking her death?"

Sirius was momentarily stunned into silence at Voldemort asking for Draco's advice. Although given the fact the blond wizard was clearly involved with his daughter, it maybe wasn't that strange that he was asking the teenager for his opinion. Still, it wasn't something Sirius was prepared for and he would have to think on his feet if he wanted to survive the conversation.

"I suppose that depends," he offered slowly as he recalled everything Harry and Ron had told him, specifically about Draco's thoughts and feelings towards muggleborns like Hermione. "Personally, I don't see any real benefit from kidnapping Hermione, unless you want to lead Har... Potter into a trap and use her as bait." Sirius inwardly winced at his almost mistake, but neither Lucius nor Voldemort reacted so he figured he'd gotten away with it. "She certainly won't talk and give you information."

"You think not?" Voldemort questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"She's a stubborn little mudblood," Sirius replied, hating having to use the M word to describe Hermione, but knowing it was what was expected of Draco. "You won't get anything from her."

"Well, since I'm not really bothered about trapping Potter, it looks like you're advocating the faked death scenario," Voldemort said.

"Why fake her death though?" Sirius questioned with a shrug, trying to appear relaxed and at ease as he was guessing Draco usually was in situations like these. "I say kill her outright."

"You want us to kill Hermione?" Voldemort asked, yet again raising an eyebrow.

"It would save us a lot of hassle," Sirius replied, mentally making plans to ensure Hermione was well protected when he returned to the Order. He hated talking about killing her, but it was how he felt Draco would respond after everything Harry and Ron had told him, and after what he'd witnessed himself in their memories.

"How so?" Voldemort asked, leaning forward, focusing intently on Sirius. "Lucius, you may leave us if you wish," he added, waving a dismissive hand in his Death Eater's direction.

"Yes, My Lord," Lucius said, raising from his seat.

Sirius was slightly concerned that he'd been rumbled and Lucius leaving was some sort of trap, but Voldemort remained focused on him and once again urged him to speak his mind. Taking a deep breath, Sirius began to tell Voldemort how dangerous he thought Hermione could be and how much help she would provide for Harry in the coming war. It repulsed him to be saying such things, but it seemed to be doing the trick and Voldemort was nodding along to everything he was saying. He would just have to make sure that Hermione had the utmost protection and that the dark never had the chance to get their hands on her.

"You make some good points, Draco," Voldemort said, sitting back in his chair and looking appraisingly at Sirius. "That's quite a dark streak you've got."

"Thank you My Lord," Sirius replied, forcing a proud smirk onto his face.

"Yes, you have definitely given me something to think about," Voldemort said.

Sirius continued to smirk, although inside he felt sick as it appeared he'd put Hermione into the dark's sights. Or at least he'd put her more firmly into their sights, as they'd clearly had a plan to deal with her all along. He was just praying that she didn't end up dead, or else it would be on his head and he didn't think he could live with the grief.

"Is that all My Lord?" Sirius asked warily. He wasn't sure it was wise to ask questions, but he was very aware of his limitations and he wanted to be well away from Voldemort when the polyjuice potion wore off and he returned to himself.

"Not quite," Voldemort replied, just as there was a knock on the door. "Come in," he called, his eyes never leaving Sirius.

Sirius glanced behind him as the door opened and Lucius returned. However, moments later his mouth dropped open when Hermione walked into the room behind the tall, blond wizard. Sirius instantly noted there was something different about Hermione, and it wasn't until she casually sauntered across the room towards Voldemort that he realised it was her attitude and the way she held herself. There was an air or confidence about her he never normally saw. That wasn't to say she was shy normally, but the girl in front of him was clearly confident in herself and what was more, she exuded a sexuality she didn't normally possess. With that final thought, Sirius took in her tight black trousers and clinging red off the shoulder top and recalled the clothes he'd spotted on Draco's bed. They'd belonged to Hermione, which meant the curvaceous brunette in the shower was Hermione. So did that mean she was also Voldemort's daughter and had been playing them the entire time? Sirius didn't know, but he did know he had a bad feeling about the turn of events.

"Surprised to see me, Draco?" Hermione asked with a slow smirk, dragging out the name 'Draco'.

If he hadn't been sure before, Sirius knew at that moment that he'd been rumbled. Hermione was clearly the daughter Voldemort had spoken of earlier, and she knew he wasn't Draco. More than likely Voldemort and Lucius had cottoned onto the fact he was an imposter the first time he called Hermione a mudblood. They'd obviously not been asking about how to take Hermione out, but how to get her away from the Order.

"What's wrong, got nothing to say?" Hermione questioned.

"He certainly had plenty to say earlier," Voldemort replied.

"So Lucius said," Hermione said. "Although he's gone quiet now."

While Hermione and Voldemort had been talking, Sirius had carefully pulled Draco's wand from his pocket. He wasn't sure how well the wand would work for him, but it was all he had. Unfortunately for Sirius, he'd forgotten about Lucius behind him, and he didn't even get the chance to raise his wand in defence before he was stunned from behind.

"I'll take that," Lucius said, yanking his son's wand from the imposter's frozen hand.

"And you will tell us who you are," Voldemort said, flicking his own wand to release the spell on Sirius's head so he could speak.

"No," Sirius spat.

"Why hold out? We're going to find out who you are," Hermione pointed out. "The polyjuice potion will be wearing off eventually. So just tell us who you are."

"No," Sirius repeated.

"Let's see if I can work it out then," Hermione said, perching herself on the edge of the desk. "Harry? No, the Order wouldn't risk 'The Boy Who Lived'. Ron? No, not smart enough to attempt to pull this off. If you were Ron, you would have messed up by now. Besides, Molly wouldn't allow it. You're someone who's smart, brave, and has a reckless streak. After all, you'd have to be reckless to try this. That leaves us with only one real option. Doesn't it, Sirius."

"I won't talk," Sirius replied, refusing to let it show how impressed he was that Hermione had worked out it was him posing as Draco.

"We can make you," Lucius hissed menacingly in his ear. "Tell me where my son is."

"Never," Sirius spat with a wicked laugh. He'd already told Harry and Ron not to mention their plan if he didn't return, and certainly not to mention Draco and his whereabouts.

"We don't need you to talk, you know," Hermione said. "In case you've forgotten, I'm part of the Order. I don't believe you've kidnapped Draco, and come up with this whole plan on your own. Someone else in the Order knows, and I'll find out who. One of them will lead me to Draco. After all, they all trust me, and with you in our custody, they have no reason not to."

Sirius blanched as he realised the truth in Hermione's words. He may have told Harry and Ron to keep quiet about their scheme, but with Hermione determined to get to the truth, she would get it from them. After all, she was their best friend and it would be only natural for them to confide in her and confess to what they'd done in order to get her help. They would have no idea that what they were really doing was giving the dark vital information. Information that would lead to them getting Draco back and them wreaking a terrible vengeance on all those involved in his kidnapping.

"I see you can see I'm right," Hermione chuckled, leaning close to Sirius and giving him a cold glare which sent shivers down his spine. "Don't worry Sirius, we'll get Draco back with or without your help. And I can personally promise you that everyone involved in your little scheme will pay for it. Enjoy the next few hours, they may be your last."

Half stunned, Sirius could do nothing but watch as Hermione turned to Voldemort and addressed him as Daddy. She informed him that she was returning to the Order, and that she'd find out where Draco was before the end of the Easter break. Sirius could see the determination in her eyes, and he knew by the end of the holidays that Draco would be back with the dark and his life would be over. The only question was, would Harry and Ron survive Hermione's wrath?


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione emerged from the bathroom, fully expecting Draco to be waiting for her, but the room was empty and there was no sign of her errant boyfriend. She could have sworn she'd caught a glimpse of his reflection in the bathroom while she was in the shower, but if he had arrived home, he hadn't stuck around to talk to her.

"Coward," Hermione muttered, towelling herself off and stepping into her flimsy underwear.

The previous day, Draco had nipped out and hadn't returned. After several hours, a note had arrived at the manor saying he'd ran into Blaise and was spending the night with his best friend. Hermione didn't begrudge her boyfriend spending time with his friends, but since Draco had promised her a romantic evening before he went out, she wasn't impressed that he hadn't returned. She was even less impressed that the note was addressed to his parents, and he didn't even have the decency to send her a message.

Once she was dressed, Hermione contemplated heading downstairs to see what her father was up to, but in the end she headed into Draco's library and settled down with a book. If her father wanted her, he would send for her, as he was well aware that she would be somewhere in the manor. Hermione didn't spend every holiday at Malfoy Manor, as her act as a muggleborn and friend of Harry Potter meant she had to spend time with the Order, but she'd chosen to spend the Easter holidays with her family.

One of the reasons Hermione had chosen to spend Easter with her family was to discuss how to get her away from the Order. Hermione had attended Hogwarts as a muggleborn for her own safety, and befriending Harry had been too good an opportunity to miss out on when they were sorted into the same house. Once her father had returned at the end of fourth year after several years of plotting and careful planning, it had been decided that it would be best for her to keep up the pretence. However, with school nearing the end, there was no need for the pretence. It was time she returned to the heart of her family and the dark, and discussions were in place on the best way to do that.

Hermione thought she should just leave and let the Order know exactly who she was, but her father liked a bit of drama and he thought there were other ways to get her away from the Order which would devastate them just as much. His two options were to fake her kidnapping and have the Order fall as they tried to rescue her, or fake her death and devastate the Order so much they were easy to take out. Personally, Hermione didn't think either option was necessary, but she loved her father and she would go along with whatever he decided to do, even if she thought it was overly dramatic and unnecessary.

Hermione didn't have a problem with indulging his father in his dramatics, as she was just grateful to still have him in her life. Hermione had barely been two years old when her father had heard about the prophecy about Harry and had gone to put an end to it, which resulted in him being vanquished for several years. Hermione had already lost her mother, a French witch who had died in childbirth, and with her father gone, she'd been left without a family. Fortunately, Voldemort had confided in the Malfoys about her existence and when he'd vanished, they'd taken her in and raised her.

Thanks to Lucius's mark, they'd known Voldemort wasn't dead and finally he'd managed to get a message to them letting them know what state he was in. In fact he'd been in such a bad way that Hermione hadn't been allowed contact with him when she was younger. It was only as she was preparing to start Hogwarts that she finally met her father. In the years that followed she was in regular contact with him as he and Lucius worked on a way to restore him to the strong, powerful wizard he was. It took a long time, but eventually they found a ritual to do just that and with a lot of planning, they managed to perform the ritual at the end of Hermione's fourth year. Since then Voldemort had been content to keep quiet and grow his numbers in private, ready for the day he would have to face the Order.

Hermione had kept up her act as a muggleborn on her father's instructions, and she'd been able to provide him with valuable information once the Order was reformed. Voldemort now knew every single person who was part of the Order, and every thought and plan they had. Destroying them would be easy with the knowledge Hermione had accumulated, and the fact they trusted her so implicitly made it all so easy. Hermione knew she could deliver Harry on a plate if Voldemort so desired, but he was adamant that he wasn't going to strike at Harry until Hermione was safely away from the Order.

With only a few months of school left, Hermione was beginning to look forward to the time when she could shed her good girl image and embrace her true self. Of course part of looking forward to the future was being with Draco, and not having to hide their relationship. She and Draco had been friends forever and had grown up together, but romance had blossomed once they reached their teenage years. However, given the circumstances they'd had to conduct the whole of their relationship in secret, and the only time they could truly be together was at home at the manor. Their time at the manor was scare, especially since Hermione had to spend so much time with the Order, which was why Hermione was so annoyed that Draco had blown her out for Blaise.

Now Draco was back in her thoughts, Hermione began to get angry with her boyfriend again. She was still simmering with anger when she heard someone enter the room behind her. Turning around she expected to find Draco, but instead she was confronted with his father, Lucius.

"Lucius," Hermione greeted with a nod. "Draco's not here, if you're looking for your son."

"I know he's not here," Lucius replied. "He's downstairs with your father, or at least someone pretending to be him is in my study with The Dark Lord."

"Someone pretending to be Draco?" Hermione questioned with a frown as panic set in and a cold feeling curled itself around her heart. "I don't understand."

"I was with your father, and I was coming to see if Draco had returned," Lucius explained. "Just as I left my study, I spotted Draco. However, it quickly became clear we weren't dealing with Draco. He was confused when your father mentioned the ideas of how to proceed with you, and he then called you a mudblood. Just before I left, he even suggested that we should kill you."

"I take it the imposter doesn't realise we're onto him."

"Of course not. The Dark Lord acted as though he was interested in what he had to say. When I left, the fake Draco was about to explain why we should kill you."

"Maybe we should go and find out what this fake imposter has to say," Hermione said, feeling her temper beginning to rise as she contemplated what an imposter meant for her boyfriend. All this time she'd been angry at Draco for blowing her out, when clearly it had been the work of the Order and they had him somewhere.

Leaving Draco's library, Hermione and Lucius made their way down to Lucius's study. When they entered, Hermione saw the shock on the fake Draco's face at her appearance. From there it wasn't hard to work out just who the imposter was, and while he wouldn't confirm it, Hermione was positive they were dealing with Sirius Black. Sure enough when the polyjuice potion wore off, it was Sirius sitting in Lucius's office dressed like Draco.

"I knew it," Hermione snarled, glaring at Sirius as he returned to his normal self.

"Now we just need to work out how many of the Order were part of this plan," Voldemort said.

"I'll do that when I get back to them," Hermione said. "I should go and pack."

"Not so fast," Lucius said, stopping Hermione before she could leave the room. "I want Draco found as much as you, but we have to be careful. Give the Order time to stew about Black's disappearance before you go to them. It'll be easier to work out who's involved if they're already worried."

"And what about Draco?" Hermione questioned. "Every hour I stay here, is an hour he's in danger."

"Believe me, I know that," Lucius said with a sigh. "But I have faith in my son. He's strong Hermione, he'll hang on until we get to him. You never know, we might be able to break Black and you might not need to return to the Order."

"I'll give you until tomorrow lunchtime," Hermione said reluctantly. She hated waiting twenty four hours before she made her move, but she had to admit that Lucius had a point and her task could be made easier if whoever else was working with Sirius was already worried.

"It won't do you any good," Sirius sneered, faking bravado he really didn't feel. "I won't talk. No-one will talk. You won't find Draco."

"You underestimate us, Sirius," Hermione snarled, grabbing Sirius by the hair and yanking his head roughly backwards. "I've pulled the wool over everyone's eyes for over six years, do you really think I won't be able to get to the truth? All I have to do is return to the Order, and someone will tell me something. We will find Draco, and when we do, he won't be happy. I'm sure Harry and Ron have told you he's harmless, but he's not. There's a dark side to Draco, and I'm sure you and everyone else involved in this plan will get to see it."

"I'm sure they'll get to see a lot of dark sides before this is over," Voldemort said. "Lucius, get him down to the dungeons. I'll pay Mr Black a visit in a while, for now, I want to talk to my daughter."

Hermione stonily watched as Lucius grabbed hold of Sirius and disappeared with him. With Sirius being settled down in the dungeons, Hermione turned to her father, letting the fear show in her eyes. As long as Sirius was in the room she'd kept up her angry front, but now he was gone, she could let her defences down. Even though she didn't believe the Order had it in them to torture and kill, she would still rather have Draco out of their clutches. Besides, there was no telling what they would do once Sirius failed to return.

"We'll get him back, Hermione," Voldemort said reassuringly. He knew Draco meant the world to his daughter, and he would do whatever it took to reunite them.

"I know," Hermione replied with a firm nod. "But I think it's time we ended this charade. Once I've found Draco, we need to take the Order out once and for all."

"I agree," Voldemort said. "But Draco is our priority. If we don't get anything out of Black, you can go back to the Order and find the truth. Everyone involved in this plan is on borrowed time. Once we've dealt with them, we can focus on the rest of the Order and bringing Potter and Dumbledore down."

"There's a chance Harry's involved in this," Hermione warned. She'd been thinking about who could be involved, and she couldn't see Sirius pulling off such a stroke without the help of either Harry or Ron, or quite possible both of them. "Sirius is mad enough to come up with a plan like this, but he couldn't have done it without input from someone who knows Draco. Granted Harry and Ron don't know him well, in fact what they know is just what he shows people, but they would consider it enough knowledge to help Sirius. They were probably hoping he wouldn't run into anyone as he was poking around."

"If Potter's involved, he'll pay," Voldemort said. "Before you go back to the Order, I've got something to give you. Something that will help you get the culprits back to the manor for us to deal with."

"What?" Hermione questioned.

"Some handcuffs, Lucius and I have been working on," Voldemort replied. "You'll just have to clap them onto someone and they'll be transferred to the manor dungeons, sort of like a port key. It'll leave you free to get Draco back here."

"Do the handcuffs work?" Hermione asked.

"They just need a final test," Voldemort answered. "We can do that before you leave tomorrow. But now, I have a wizard to go and see. Would you care to accompany me?"

"I would," Hermione replied with a smile as she left the study with her father.

She'd heard stories about her father and what he was capable of, but she'd never witnessed him in action. It would be a privilege to see what he could do, and what sort of pain he could inflict on Sirius. Hermione also knew that if anyone was going to break Sirius and make him talk, it would be her father. It was time to see The Dark Lord in action, and Hermione wouldn't want to be Sirius Black for the next couple of hours. The wizard was in for a world of pain, but Hermione had no sympathy for him. He deserved everything he got for what he'd done to Draco, and everyone else involved in his fiendish plan would get the same treatment when they were caught. And they would be caught, Hermione would see to that. She would find every last person involved in this plan and make sure they paid for messing with the love of her life.


	4. Chapter 4

"He's not here," Ron whispered to Harry, shutting the bedroom door behind him as he returned to the room he shared with his best friend.

"Bollocks," Harry swore. "What do we do?"

It had nearly been twenty four hours since Sirius had set off to Malfoy Manor, and he'd yet to come back. Harry and Ron's concern had set in the previous afternoon when Sirius didn't return, and they'd now endured a sleepless night, worrying about Harry's godfather. As Sirius had ordered them, they hadn't told anyone about what they'd been up to and when they were asked, they'd claimed to have no idea where Sirius was. However, they now had to decide whether to do as Sirius wanted them to and keep quiet, or tell someone and get help.

"We can't keep quiet," Ron said. "Not when Sirius is in trouble."

"We're going to be in trouble when this comes out," Harry said with a wince. "Dumbledore will kill us for kidnapping Malfoy."

"Technically we didn't kidnap him, it was Sirius," Ron argued.

"I don't think that will save us," Harry snorted. "We knew about it, and we went along with the plan."

"So what do you think will happen when we come clean?" Ron questioned. "What will Dumbledore do with Malfoy, and will telling anyone help save Sirius?"

"If Sirius was captured at Malfoy Manor, I'm not sure how we're going to rescue him," Harry confessed. "Sirius said the place was virtually impenetrable, which was why he needed to pose as Malfoy to get in."

"We can't give up on him, though," Ron argued.

"Of course we're not giving up on him," Harry insisted. "But I'm just thinking, we might need Malfoy to get him back. He's our way into the manor. But if we tell the others, they might not see it that way. They might follow through with Sirius's original plan to obliviate and free him."

"What are you suggesting, Harry?" Ron questioned, trying to work out what his friend was thinking. "That we keep quiet and try and rescue Sirius ourselves?"

"I don't know," Harry confessed, holding his head in his hands. "I wish Hermione was here, she would know what to do."

"I think she would urge us to tell the truth," Ron said. "We can't handle this alone, Harry. We need help."

"You're right," Harry conceded with a sigh. "But we have to fight our corner. Malfoy is the key, we have to ensure they don't just release him. He's our way into the manor, and we can't lose him."

"So who do we tell?" Ron asked. "I think Dumbledore might just dismiss us and do what he wants. Mum will be furious, and then she'll tell Dumbledore. We need to tell someone who might listen to us."

"Remus?" Harry suggested. "He's more cautious than Sirius, but he'll want to save him as much as we do. We might be able to persuade him to listen to us."

"Remus it is then," Ron said with a nod.

Once the boys were both ready and had decided what they were going to say they left their bedroom and set off in search for Remus. When they did find the older wizard he was in the kitchen, but unfortunately he wasn't alone. Molly was bustling around tidying up, and neither Harry nor Ron wanted to bring the subject of Sirius up while she was around, so they exchanged a silent look agreeing to keep quiet until they could speak to Remus on his own.

"What time do the pair of you call this?" Molly tutted, shaking her head at the pair. "It's the middle of the morning. If you're going to get up at this time every day, I'll have to take you both back to The Burrow so I can keep a closer eye on you."

"We've been up for a while, Mum," Ron argued. "We were just upstairs."

"Yet I suppose you both want breakfast," Molly remarked.

"Actually, I'm not really hungry," Harry said. He was far too worried about Sirius to even think about eating food.

"Nonsense, you have to eat," Molly said, bustling around the kitchen to prepare the boys something to eat.

Knowing it was more trouble to argue with Molly, Harry and Ron conceded and let her prepare them a plate of scrambled eggs each. Once she'd handed them their breakfast, she started to make a shopping list and Harry and Ron got their hopes up that they would get to speak to Remus alone. However, Molly was still making her list when Remus got up and announced he was leaving.

"You're going?" Harry questioned, unable to hide his dismay.

"I do have things to do, Harry," Remus replied with a low chuckle. "I'll be back later. If Sirius turns up, tell him he's in trouble."

"You can say that again," Molly muttered. "I only let Ron and Harry stay here because Sirius swore he would be here to supervise the boys. And now he's wandered off, for the second evening I might add."

"He'll be back," Remus said with a shrug. Since he didn't know what Harry and Ron did, he wasn't overly concerned by his best friend's absence.

"He better be," Molly warned. "If he's not back tomorrow, the boys will be coming home with me."

Harry and Ron exchanged a horrified glance at the thought of being forced to return to The Burrow. With what was happening they needed to stay at Order headquarters if they had any chance of rescuing Sirius. However, while the boys were busy contemplating their potential return to The Burrow they missed Remus leaving.

"Has Remus gone?" Harry asked, suddenly noticing that Remus had gone.

"Why the interest?" Molly asked, scrutinising the boys. "Is there something I should know?"

"Of course not, Mum," Ron answered quickly, flashing his mother an innocent smile.

"Okay then," Molly said with a reluctant nod of her head. She wasn't sure if she believed the boys, but she was sure she would find out what was bothering them sooner rather than later. "I've got to go and do some shopping. Do you boys want to come with me? Or do you fancy going to The Burrow for the day? I'm sure Ginny would love to see you."

"It's okay Mum, we're just going to stay here," Ron said. "We were thinking we might get in some revision for our N.E.W.T.S."

"Well it's nice to see you taking things so seriously," Molly said with a proud smile. "I'll leave you to it. Don't overdo the studying though."

"We won't," Ron promised as Molly said her goodbyes and left Grimmauld Place.

"Revision?" Harry asked, chuckling at the way his friend had gotten rid of his mother so perfectly.

"It worked didn't it," Ron replied with a shrug. "Mum won't bother us for the rest of the day. Now we need to decide what to do now? Do we wait for Remus to return, or do we take matters into our own hands?"

"I hate to say this, but I think we need to go and see if Malfoy is okay," Harry replied. "Personally, I'd love to see him starve to death, but we're going to need him, and we're going to need him alive."

"I guess we better take him some food then," Ron said with a sigh. "But will we be able to find him again? Sirius took us last time."

"I should be able to get us back to the cottage," Harry said thoughtfully. Both he and Ron had passed their apparition test, but he had a more natural grasp of apparition than his friend. "I'm not sure about getting past the wards though."

"We could take Sirius's wand," Ron suggested. When Sirius had gone to the manor, he'd taken the wand he'd removed from Draco and left his in Harry's care.

"It's worth a try," Harry replied. "Although I guess even if we do break them in some way it won't matter. Any alerts will go to Sirius's wand, and we'll have that with us. Although we are going to have to be careful not to let Malfoy get free. I'm not sure what sort of wards I can cast to keep him locked up."

"If we have to, we'll physically restrain him," Ron said. "There's two of us against one of him, we can take him. Plus we have magic, while he's wandless."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Harry agreed. "Now let's grab some food and get going. Hopefully by the time we return, Remus will be back."

Getting a paper bag, the boys prepared a few sandwiches, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and retrieved Sirius's wand. With food for their prisoner sorted, the boys left Grimmauld Place and Harry prepared to apparate them to the cottage Sirius had taken them to a couple of days previously. Harry was as nervous as he'd ever been as he grabbed hold of Ron, and taking a deep breath he focused on where he wanted to take them. On the count of three, he flicked his wand and they vanished with a small pop.

Through the entire thing, Harry kept his eyes closed and his focus on the cottage he wanted to reach. As they landed, he didn't feel any signs of splinching, and when he cracked open his eyes he found himself looking at the cottage Sirius had shown them. Turning to Ron, he was relived to find his best friend was in one piece and seemingly unharmed by their journey.

"Nice one, Harry," Ron said with a grin, taking in the cottage in front of them.

"Now to get through these wards," Harry muttered.

Deciding the best thing was to test out the wards the boys tried to enter the garden, however they both received small shocks as they tried to enter the property. Sirius's wand in Harry's pocket also shot off sparks, but when Harry pulled it out and raised it towards the house, it vibrated and Harry felt a surge of power flow from the wand.

"I think it's disabled the wards," Harry said.

"Without a spell?" Ron queried. "Is that even possible?"

"I don't know," Harry replied with a shrug. "Maybe the wards are connected to the wand, and with the wand's presence they've dropped."

"I suppose it's worth a try," Ron said. "Shall we try again?"

"Let's."

Together the boys once again tried to enter the garden, only this time they passed onto the property without any interference. Grinning at each other they headed towards the front door. Before they entered, Harry tucked Sirius's wand back in his pocket and pulled out his own wand. Ron also pulled out his wand, so they were both armed. With their wands in front of them the pair entered the cottage, bracing themselves to face their enemy.

The first thing that both Harry and Ron noticed was that the chair wasn't in the same place as last time, but thankfully Draco was still tied to the chair. This time he was fully awake and smirking at the duo.

"Well, well, well," Draco drawled. "Look what we have here. Two boys without their pet dog. What's wrong, Black's little plan failed, did it? I told you it would."

"Our plan is going perfectly," Ron snapped, unable to help himself by replying with an obvious lie.

"It looks like it," Draco chuckled. "So what are you going to do now? Try and use me to get into the manor and save your little canine?"

"We've brought you some food," Harry said, throwing the paper bag into Draco's lap.

"And how am I supposed to eat it?" Draco asked as the bag fell back off his lap and onto the dusty wooden floor. "In case it escaped your notice, I'm tied up."

"We'll untie you, but don't try anything," Harry warned, picking the bag back up and keeping his wand aimed at Draco. "There's two against one, Malfoy, and we're not afraid to curse you. We didn't even have to come and feed you."

"I hope you're not expecting me to be grateful," Draco spat.

"We wouldn't expect anything like that," Harry muttered.

Harry checked Ron was ready, before he magically untied Draco's hands, although he was smart enough to keep his feet tied. He then threw the paper bag back to Draco, who caught it and opened it up. Despite Draco's instincts to fight and try to escape, his hunger was more powerful and he gobbled down the sandwich and drank half the bottle of water in one gulp.

"I think that'll do," Harry said, stepping in while Draco was still drinking.

Before Draco even had a chance to consider fighting, Ron had removed the bottle from his hands and Harry had magically tied them back together. The only difference was, his hands were now in front of him rather than behind him. Even so, with his feet tied to the chair he was still stuck and able to offer no real resistance to the two Gryffindors. If Draco had thought he could take the pair, he would have tried, but he was smart enough to know that any attempt to escape would only result in him getting hurt.

"So what now?" Draco asked. He wasn't overly concerned by his capture as he knew rescue would be on the way, and sooner rather than later Hermione, The Dark Lord or his parents would find him. "You're going to leave me until you've figured out how to bend me to your will."

"Something like that," Harry muttered. It was clear the blond wasn't going to help them willingly, so he was hoping Remus would have some ideas on how to get him to co-operate.

After checking Draco was secure and couldn't escape, Harry and Ron left the cottage. Even though he wasn't sure how much good it would do, Harry locked the door behind them before he and Ron passed through the small garden and left the property.

"Do you think we should try Sirius's wand again?" Harry asked. "It might reset the wards automatically."

"It's worth a try," Ron said with a shrug.

Removing Sirius's wand, Harry pointed it at the cottage and gave it a wave. As with when they were arriving, he felt a blot of energy leaving the wand and there was a slight shimmering around the cottage. Clearly the wards were connected to Sirius's wand, and could be disabled and set by anyone. In one way it was good, and it had helped Harry and Ron get into the cottage, but in another way it was dangerous as anyone could steal the wand and use it just like Harry and Ron had done.

"That's it," Harry said. "Now all we have to do is confide in Remus and get him to help us."

"Let's hope he's home," Ron replied as they took one final look at the cottage and headed back to Grimmauld Place.

When they entered Grimmauld Place, they could hear someone in the kitchen and hoping it was Remus, they rushed off to greet him. Entering the kitchen the boys found it wasn't Remus. It was someone even better. It was Hermione.

"Hello boys," Hermione greeted with a smile. "Did you miss me?"

"Hermione," Harry gasped, rushing over to his friend and embracing her. "You have no idea how much we need your right now."

"Yeah, we've been desperate to talk to you," Ron added.

"Is there a problem?" Hermione questioned innocently.

"A major one," Harry replied. "We desperately need your help, Hermione."

"Sit down and tell me all about it," Hermione urged. "I'll do what I can to help."

As Harry and Ron exchanged a relieved smile they missed the wicked smirk that flickered over Hermione's face. As they prepared to tell Hermione everything, they had no idea they were about to make the worst decision of their lives. They were going to do something that was ultimately going to lead to their deaths.


	5. Chapter 5

As expected, Sirius didn't break and reveal anything, even under severe torture. For Hermione, it was both frustrating and exhilarating to watch her father in action. On the one hand, it was great to finally see her father in action and discover just what he was capable of, but on the other hand it was worrying that it was her boyfriend that was in trouble, and the reason she was seeing her father in action was to save Draco.

All the time Sirius refused to talk, Hermione struggled not to run off to the Order and demand answers, but remembering her promise to her father, she stuck around until the day after Sirius had been captured posing as Draco. In the time she remained at home, Voldemort and Lucius checked the magical cuffs they'd been working on and they gave Hermione half a dozen cuffs to take with her to the Order. Unlike normal handcuffs, the enchanted ones only went around one wrist, meaning they were easier to get onto people. Voldemort explained that the second the cuff was clasped around someone's wrist and closed, it would transport them to the manor dungeons, where he and Lucius would then ensure the prisoners were secured tightly as they awaited punishment.

After what seemed like an eternity it was time for Hermione to return to the Order and see what she could find out. Before she went, they tried one final time to get Sirius to talk, but by that point he'd been tortured so badly he could barely moan, let alone give them any information. Hermione suspected he was in such a bad state that he might not even be alive when she returned, especially if Voldemort and Lucius had another go at him, which they were likely to do as they were both furious about Draco's kidnapping.

The other thing Hermione did before she went to the Order, was change out of her usual clothes. When she was with Harry and Ron she didn't like to draw attention to herself, so her sexy, attention grabbing clothes were cast aside and she dressed more casually in jeans and a plain t-shirt. She then pulled her long hair up into a high ponytail to disguise the fact it was much tamer than she allowed it in school. After shrugging on some comfortable boots and a boring black jacket, Hermione headed off to visit the Order and get some answers.

When she arrived at Grimmauld Place, she found the house deserted aside from the annoying portrait of Mrs Black, who began to scream and shout at her arrival. The first time Hermione had visited the house, she was worried that Mrs Black would be able to tell she wasn't a muggleborn as she was an enchanted portrait, but she gave Hermione just as much abuse as anyone else. Interestingly she never referred to her as a mudblood, but none of the others had picked up on that fact.

"Shut up you rancid old bag," Hermione snapped, yanking the curtains over the portrait and stifling her screams. "Hello, is anyone here?" she called as she moved further into the old house.

When she got no reply, Hermione checked the front room and then the kitchen as they were the rooms used most often. Finding both rooms empty she checked all the upstairs rooms as well. When she found no sign of anyone, she looked for anything that might tell her where Draco was, and who else was involved in his kidnapping. Sadly she found nothing, and she returned to the kitchen no further forward than when she'd arrived.

"What now?" Hermione muttered to herself.

As if to answer the question, the front door opened and Hermione heard someone, or possibly a few people enter the house. Before she got a chance to investigate who had arrived back at headquarters, the kitchen door flew open and Harry and Ron burst into the room.

"Hello boys. Did you miss me?" Hermione asked, smiling at her good fortune. Not only was it the two people she really wanted to talk to, but they were alone, meaning she might be able to get the information out of them even quicker.

Much to Hermione's surprise, Harry rushed over to her and embraced her, all the time telling her how much they needed her. As Ron said virtually the same thing, Hermione had stop herself from smirking wickedly. Unless she was very much mistaken the boys were going to give her all the answers she needed, without her even having to press them. This was going to be easier than she thought, and she might even be able to save Draco that day if she was lucky.

"Is there a problem?" Hermione questioned innocently, remembering to act as though she didn't know what they'd been up to.

"A major one. We desperately need your help, Hermione," Harry answered.

"Sit down and tell me all about it. I'll do what I can to help," Hermione said, smiling reassuringly at the two boys.

Hermione noticed the relieved smile the boys shared, but neither of them noticed her brief grin of triumph as she sat the two boys down and made them cups of tea. She then sat down with her own cup, ready to hear what had been going on, and how they wanted her to help them.

"I don't know where to begin," Harry said with a sigh as he took a sip of the tea Hermione had made for them.

"How about the beginning," Hermione urged gently. "Something's clearly happened, and whatever it is, it's got the pair of you spooked."

"We're in trouble, Hermione," Ron said. "Big trouble."

"Although Sirius is in even more trouble," Harry added. "We need to save him. You have to help us Hermione."

"And I will," Hermione said reassuringly. "But you have to tell me what's going on. What on earth have I missed?"

Harry and Ron took a deep breath and together they told Hermione the entire story. They started with how Sirius had snatched Draco on the spur of the moment and kept him a prisoner. They then went onto to discuss the plan Sirius had come up with and their part in it. And finally they told her how Sirius had failed to come back from the manor, and now they didn't know what to do.

"Wow," Hermione said with a low whistle, pretending to be stunned when really she was fuming mad. "I take it you haven't told anyone else in the Order about what's happening."

"We tried to tell Remus this morning, but Mum was around," Ron admitted. "She'll go mad if she finds out, Hermione. We thought if Remus would help us, we could use Malfoy to get Sirius back and the rest of the Order need never have to know what's happened."

"Where do the rest of the Order think Sirius is?" Hermione questioned.

"With a woman," Harry replied with a shrug. "According to Lupin, he regularly goes missing for days on end while we're at school, and when he returns, he's always full of stories of the witch he's been with. Everyone thinks that's where he is, and he'd just been irresponsible."

"Yeah, Mum's ready to kill him," Ron said with a wince.

"I'm surprised she hasn't tried to take you back home with her," Hermione remarked.

"She threatened it, but I said Harry and I wanted to revise so she's letting us stay here," Ron said. "I guess she can't make us go home since we're both seventeen, but she'll certainly put the pressure on if Sirius doesn't return soon."

"So will you help us, Hermione?" Harry pleaded.

"I don't really know how I can help," Hermione replied. "I can't believe you would do something so reckless. You were just asking for trouble kidnapping Malfoy and sending Sirius to the manor posing as him."

"You're going to tell someone, aren't you?" Ron questioned, sounding defeated.

"I really should," Hermione said sternly. Telling anyone else was the last thing she wanted, but she had to maintain her cover for a little while longer, and the good girl she'd been pretending to be would certainly consider informing the older members of the Order."

"Please don't," Harry begged, before Hermione could say anything else. "If we thought it would help Sirius, we would have already told someone. But Sirius wanted us to keep quiet, even if he didn't return. Dumbledore and the others wouldn't approve of what we've done. They might think it's a lost cause rescuing Sirius, and they might just let Malfoy go. We might not be able to save him, but we have to at least try. Please Hermione, he's the only family I have left. Please help me save my godfather."

Hermione pursed her lips as though she was mulling over Harry's words. Of course she was going to agree to help them, but she had to make it look as though she'd been genuinely convinced by Harry's heartfelt plea.

"Okay," she said finally. "This goes against my better judgment, but I'll help you."

"Thank you Hermione," Harry gushed, relief flooding his face. "You have no idea what this means to us."

"I'm sure you can make it up to me in the future," Hermione said. "Now, if I'm going to help, we need a plan. Although, I assume you already have one."

"Not really," Ron confessed with a grimace. "We know we can't just break into Malfoy Manor, especially as they'll be on alert by now. We were hoping to use Malfoy in same way."

"How?" Hermione asked. "You can't just send him back home and get him to release Sirius."

"Why not?" Harry asked, an idea clearly forming in his mind. "If we put him under the Imperius curse, he'd had no choice but to do what we said. We could force him to free Sirius."

"If Sirius has been captured, and it's looking like he has, Malfoy's parents are going to know he's missing," Hermione pointed out. "With Sirius posing as him, they're going to assume the Order have him. Malfoy can't just go home as though nothing's happened. His parents will be all over him, and they might work out he's under our influence."

"So what do you suggest?" Ron questioned, clearly annoyed that Hermione had shot down the one and only plan they'd thought of. "We could try appealing to Malfoy's better nature, but I don't think he's got one."

"I don't know," Hermione said, sighing as though she was frustrated and trying to think of a plan. "But I do think we need to move fast. It's a miracle the dark haven't already launched an attack to try and get Malfoy back. If we don't save Sirius soon, I think the rest of the Order are going to discover what you've done."

"Maybe we could use Malfoy as a ransom," Harry suggested. "We could get him to send a message to his parents, arranging a meeting. When they turned up, we can offer an exchange. They get Malfoy back if we get Sirius back."

"I suppose that could work," Hermione said thoughtfully. Personally she thought it was a terrible idea, and she couldn't believe Harry thought three teenagers could blackmail a dark and dangerous wizard like Lucius and get away with it. "Although getting Malfoy to co-operate could be tricky."

"Don't worry about Malfoy, he's exactly where we want him," Ron said with a smirk. "He'll do as we say without any problems."

"Is he hurt?" Hermione asked. "This would work better if he's unhurt. It shows goodwill on our part if we're returning him uninjured."

"He's fine," Harry said. "Probably a bit uncomfortable and tired, but we haven't hurt him in any way."

"You should probably take me to him," Hermione said. She'd been wanting to go to Draco since they second Harry and Ron confirmed they knew where he was being held, but she'd been patient. "It could be better if we're away from the Order while we're doing this. Someone could overhear us here, plus we might not be able to get away."

"But won't we be missed?" Ron questioned. "We don't want people looking for us."

"No, we don't," Hermione replied. She knew that before long people would be looking for Harry and Ron, but by that point it would be too late. "Will your Mum be back today, Ron?"

"I doubt it, she thought we were going to spend the day revising. She's likely not going to be back before tomorrow."

"Good, so now we've just got to think about the people here," Hermione mused. "I know. Leave a note saying you've gone to The Burrow for the rest of the day and will be staying the night. Remus won't check, and that way no-one will know you're gone until tomorrow morning."

"It sounds like a plan," Harry said with a nod. "But we'll have to move quickly before Remus or anyone else returns."

"So grab what you need and we can be going," Hermione said. "With any luck, this will be over by the end of the day."

"You're optimistic, Hermione," Ron said with a humourless chuckle. "This could end with us all ending up in serious trouble."

"You have to think positive Ron," Hermione said with a shrug.

Hermione was eager to get going now she was so close to seeing Draco, but thankfully it didn't take Harry and Ron long to gather the few bits and pieces they wanted and leave a note for Remus while she washed the cups they'd used and put them away. Picking up her bag, Hermione double checked there was no sign she'd even been at Grimmauld Place before following the boys' out of Order headquarters.

"Where to now?" She asked once they were outside an in a secluded area where no muggles would see them apparating.

"An old cottage belonging to Sirius," Harry said. "Hold on tight, Hermione."

Hermione detested side along apparition, but she didn't complain as she clung tightly to Harry. Ron clung onto Harry's other arm, and with a distinct pop they vanished into thin air when Harry flicked his wand. When they landed they were on a deserted coastal road. In front of them was a dilapidated cottage, and Hermione could smell the sea and hear the seagulls calling from the nearby shore.

"Now for the fun part," Harry said as he removed Sirius's wand and explained how it controlled the wards.

"Impressive," Hermione muttered, even though she thought it was very foolish of Sirius to connect the wards of the cottage to his wand rather than to himself. Anyone could steal a wand and use it, but it was a whole lot harder to force someone to personally break down wards they'd erected.

"Are we ready?" Harry checked, putting Sirius's wand into his pocket and raising his own.

"Ready," Ron confirmed, his wand held out in front of him like a weapon.

"Ready," Hermione said, raising her own wand. Only what neither boy realised was that the only people going to be on the receiving end of her spells were them.

"Let's go," Harry said, leading the way into the garden.

Hermione let Ron go next, falling into step behind the two boys. Knowing Harry was the faster of the two, Hermione angled herself so that she could shoot a spell past Ron and hit Harry. Just as Harry reached for the door, Hermione muttered a spell under her breath and a jolt of light flew from her wand, stunning Harry and causing him to fall on the floor.

"What the…" Ron spluttered, partly turning to see where the spell had come from but not moving quickly enough to prevent Hermione throwing the same spell at him and causing him to fall to the floor.

"Boys, you make things too easy," Hermione said with a low chuckle as she stepped over the pair, and plucked their wands from their frozen hands. She then also removed Sirius's wand from Harry's possession before pulling two enchanted cuffs from her bag. "I'll be seeing you both very soon," she vowed with a devious grin.

Snapping the cuffs onto both boys, Hermione watched as they disappeared from sight. Trusting that the cuffs had worked and they would both end up in the dungeons at Malfoy Manor, Hermione turned back towards the cottage.

"I'm coming Draco," she whispered, as she prepared to enter the cottage and rescue her boyfriend.


	6. Chapter 6

Patience had never really been something Draco possessed much of, but he was extremely patient as he awaited rescue. Draco didn't doubt that rescue would come, and he was even fairly sure that it would be Hermione who would reach him first. The Order had made a massive mistake in kidnapping him, and Draco knew they would come to regret such a rash move. Without all the facts in their possession, they'd made a move that was always destined for failure.

Draco had no recollection of being snatched by Sirius. He could remember popping to Knockturn Alley, and then the next thing he knew, he was waking up in an old house, tied to a chair. Draco had barely had a chance to get the measure of his surroundings when he'd heard voices and people approaching, so he'd faked still being unconscious. That had meant he'd heard everything the Order had planned, and a few times he'd had to work hard not to laugh as he thought about how their plan was going to blow up in their faces.

Draco was amazed that the trio of Sirius, Harry and Ron had honestly thought their plan would work. Even without the fact that Hermione would be at the manor, he couldn't believe Potter and Weasley genuinely thought they knew enough about him to fool the people closest to him. They barely knew each other, and what they did know of each other was tainted by them being on opposite sides of the war. Draco wasn't stupid enough to think he knew either of the Gryffindors well enough to pose as them, as he knew the personality they displayed towards him wouldn't be the same as the one their friends and family saw, just like the Draco they had experience with, wasn't the same Draco as the one the people closest to him knew.

Although even if they had been able to pull off pretending to be him, Draco had known they still would have been rumbled. Hermione's presence was key to them getting caught and Draco had known seeing Hermione would throw them off track and their reaction would be enough to arouse her suspicions. Draco had tried to warn them once he made it clear he was awake, but they hadn't listened and they'd rushed off to carry out their ingenious plan.

Draco wasn't the least bit surprised when Potter and Weasley had then returned on their own. As he predicted their plan had failed, and Sirius had been caught. Now all he had to do was sit back and wait for rescue, because he knew it was coming. If he knew Hermione, she would have returned to the Order and gotten the information she needed from the two idiots who thought she was their friend. With any luck she would get to him before nightfall as he didn't fancy spending another night tied to the chair. He was lucky that Sirius had cast a spell that dissipated any need he might have had to use the bathroom, so at least he hadn't had any embarrassing accidents, and with his hands now tied in front of his body he had a bit more freedom of movement, but he still couldn't do more than shuffle the chair around the room and he wanted to be free.

With freedom hovering every nearer, Draco's patience began to wane and he began muttering to himself as he waited for rescue. He was so busy muttering to himself, and trying to use wandless magic to loosen his restraints, that he didn't notice noise outside of the cottage until the door handle began to turn. Shuffling the chair back to face the door, Draco waited to face his captors yet again. While he was hoping Hermione was with his captors, he still expected to see Potter and Weasley so it was rather a shock when his girlfriend entered the room all on her own.

"Granger," Draco said warily, not knowing if Potter and Weasley were right behind her. He didn't know if she'd been forced to break her act, and if she hadn't, he didn't want to be the one to risk her safety by revealing just how close they were.

"Hello Draco," Hermione said with a relived smile. "Honestly, the trouble you get yourself into when I'm not around to look after you."

"I don't need looking after," Draco muttered as Hermione walked over to him. It was now clear that wherever Potter and Weasley were, they weren't with Hermione.

"It looks like it," Hermione remarked with a chuckle. "So do you want my help, or can you free yourself?"

"If I could free myself, do you really think I would still be sitting here?" Draco questioned, arching an eyebrow at his girlfriend. "Just untie me, Hermione."

Hermione chuckled again as she magically untied the bindings. Draco slowly rolled his wrists to return the feeling in them, before gingerly getting to his feet and stretching his legs. Once he was sure there was no adverse effects from being tied up for a couple of days, he turned back to Hermione with a wolfish grin on his face.

"I suppose you want thanking now."

"I wouldn't say no," Hermione replied with a smile.

With two large strides, Draco was at Hermione's side and without uttering a word, he pulled her into his arms and slanted his lips over hers. Hermione eagerly responded to the kiss, tangling her hands in her boyfriend's platinum blond hair as he pulled her even closer. Hermione moaned slightly when she felt the beginning of Draco's arousal pressing at her thigh. As tempting as it was to give into their lust, she knew they were expected back at the manor and a search party would be sent out if they didn't return soon. Reluctantly, she pulled her head away from Draco's, licking her lips to savour the taste of him.

"That was some thank you," she remarked as she regained he breath.

"That was only the starter," Draco replied, pulling Hermione back into his arms.

"As much as I would love to, we don't have time," Hermione said, stopping Draco before he could reconnect their lips. "Our fathers will know I've located you, and if we don't return soon, they'll start looking for us."

"How will they know you've found me?" Draco asked. "And for that matter, how did you find me?"

"That was easy," Hermione laughed. "Harry and Ron led me straight to you."

"Potter and Weasley are here?" Draco asked, glancing towards the door in case either of them showed their faces.

"No, they're back at the manor," Hermione said. "I'll explain everything once you're home."

"Home sounds like heaven," Draco admitted. "I'm dying for a shower."

"If you're very lucky, I might scrub your back," Hermione said teasingly.

"As long as you don't ignore other parts of me," Draco returned with a cheeky smile.

"I won't," Hermione vowed as she took hold of Draco's hand and led him out of the cottage.

Since Draco's wand was at the manor and he'd been held captive for a couple of days with very little food and drink, he was more than happy to let Hermione take charge of getting them home. Like Hermione he didn't like side along apparition, but it was a small price to pay to be returning home. With Hermione in control, the pair left the secluded beach cottage and arrived safely back in the luxury of Malfoy Manor.

As both Draco and Hermione lived at the manor the wards allowed them to apparate directly into the large house and they landed in the front hallway. Voldemort was waiting for them alongside Draco's parents, and the moment they landed, Narcissa flew at her son and embraced him tightly in her arms as she wept quietly. Lucius was more reserved than his wife, but the moment Draco was free from Narcissa he clasped his son in his arms, filled with emotion.

"It's nice to have you back, Draco," Voldemort said to the young wizard.

"It's nice to be back," Draco replied, smiling at his family gathered around him.

"Are you alright?" Narcissa asked in concern. "Do you need a healer?"

"No, I'm just tired and hungry," Draco replied, giving his mother's hand a reassuring squeeze. "If no-one minds, I'd like to take a shower and have something to eat before we talk. I want to know everything."

"I'll get the elves to prepare your favourites," Narcissa said. Giving her son another hug she hurried off to galvanise the elves into action.

"Once you're ready, your father and I will be in his study," Voldemort said. "We can all be brought up to date, and we can discuss what happens next."

"I assume you got our two guests," Hermione said, looking to Lucius.

"They're settling in down in the dungeons," Lucius replied.

"We're taking it that means it was just the three of them involved in this scheme," Voldemort said.

"Yes, it was just the three of them," Hermione said. "I do hope we haven't missed anything with Harry and Ron."

"We haven't touched them, other than to make sure they're secure in their cells," Lucius reassured the young witch.

"But rest assured they will get what's coming to them, just like Black did," Voldemort added.

"Does that mean Sirius is gone?" Hermione questioned.

"Not quite, but he won't last much longer," Voldemort replied. "We tried to keep him alive for Draco. We thought he deserved to witness the man who kidnapped him receive his final punishment."

"I appreciate that," Draco said. "I'll look forward to witnessing his end."

Hermione handed over the wands she'd collected to her father, before she accompanied Draco up to his room. Wearily Draco undressed while Hermione got the shower going. When he was naked, he stepped under the steaming hot water and just let it run over his tired body. Keeping her promise to help Draco in the shower, Hermione also stripped off and joined her boyfriend under the hot spray.

"You just let me take care of everything," Hermione purred, grabbing a cloth, squirting some shower gel onto it and running it over Draco's torso.

"Thank you," Draco whispered, closing his eyes and relaxing as Hermione's hands roamed his body, washing and then teasing him.

As Hermione's hands roamed his body, Draco's fatigue began to lift and instead arousal flooded his body. Feeling a fresh burst of energy come over him, Draco pulled the wash cloth out of his girlfriend's hands and discarded it on the floor of the shower. Pushing Hermione against the glass wall of the shower, he connected their lips in a brutal kiss, unable to get enough of her after his kidnapping and their brief separation.

"Someone's feeling more alert," Hermione chuckled, her laughter turning into a moan as Draco's hard erection pressed against the inside of her thigh.

"Much more alert," Draco returned, pushing into his girlfriend and beginning to make love to her.

Talking ceased as the pair made love under the hot spray of the shower. When they were finished they cleaned themselves again and emerged from the shower. Heading into Draco's room they found a tray full of Draco's favourite foods on his desk. Draco ate as he and Hermione got dressed, and by the time the tray was empty, they were ready to go and find out what was happening with the prisoners.

Surprisingly, Narcissa was in Lucius's study when they entered. Normally Narcissa kept out of Death Eater business, but as she pointed out, this time it was personal. Her son had been kidnapped and held against his will, and she wanted to see the perpetrators punished.

"Don't hold back on my account," Narcissa said to everyone in the room. "I might not have the mark, but you all know I support the cause. A bit of death and torture doesn't faze me in the slightest. I'm tougher than I look."

Everyone agreed not to hold back for Narcissa's sake, and the conversation got underway. Draco started by revealing everything he knew about his kidnapping, not that he could remember much of that, and his time in captivity. Hermione, Voldemort and Lucius then brought Draco up to date with everything else that had happened. They explained how they caught Sirius posing as Draco, how he'd refused to talk, and then how Hermione had gone back to the Order and gotten exactly what they'd wanted.

"It almost seems too easy," Draco chuckled as Hermione told her part of the story.

"That's the beauty of me being in the heart of the Order for so long," Hermione replied with a shrug. "They trusted me. Harry and Ron never thought twice about confiding in me. In fact they were so eager for my help, it never occurred to either of them to ask why I was there."

"They'll know now," Draco said. "So what happens now? Are we going to kill them both?"

"We are," Voldemort replied with a nod. "In fact we're going to end this entire war. The pair of you can take your exams from home, you'll not be going back to Hogwarts after Easter."

"I hate to say this, but killing Harry isn't going to just end the war," Hermione said. "He might be the chosen one, but there's still Dumbledore to contend with. They fought without Harry before he was born, and they'll fight after he's dead."

"That's why we're going to take Dumbledore out as well," Voldemort said. "We're going to keep Potter alive long enough to lure Dumbledore and the Order into a battle. Once we've disposed of them both we've effectively won this war. True the Order might still fight, but without their saviour and their leader, they're virtually useless."

"I'm assuming you've got a plan for this big battle," Hermione said.

"It still needs a few kinks ironing out, but the basis is there," Voldemort replied. "But we don't need worry about that for a few more days. Right now we've got some prisoners to take care of. Black and Weasley are expendable, and I expect them to be dead before the battle. Potter needs to last a bit longer, but he doesn't need to be in great shape."

"Does this mean we can do some torturing ourselves?" Hermione asked with an eager grin.

"I think the pair of you have earned it," Voldemort said as he got to his feet. "I think it's time we paid our guests a visit, don't you?"

Draco and Hermione shared a wicked grin as they followed Voldemort down to the dungeons, ready to get their vengeance on the trio who had kidnapped Draco. It really was a reckless thing to have done, and in the end it was going to cost, Sirius, Ron and Harry their lives.


	7. Chapter 7

Harry was fuming as he sat shackled to a stone wall, not even sure where he was. Logic dictated he was at Malfoy Manor and the dark had him, but he had no idea how they'd gotten their hands on him. The last thing he remembered was reaching the cottage where they'd had Malfoy, and getting ready to enter the property. Next thing he knew he was waking up in a stone cell, shackled to a wall. Ron and Hermione were nowhere to be seen, and all he could assume was that they'd also been captured and were being held separately. He just didn't know how the dark had gotten hold of them, or how they'd even known where to find them. Unless of course Sirius had talked, and the information had come from him.

"No," Harry whispered, not wanting to believe the information had come from his godfather. He knew the only way Sirius would have said anything was if he was forced into it. Harry knew it would take a lot of forcing to get him to talk, and he hated to think about the state Sirius must be in if he had talked.

Harry was still contemplating what sort of state Sirius was in when the door to the room he was being held in started to open. Jumping to his feet, Harry stood with his back towards the wall. He knew he couldn't do anything with magic to hurt whoever was coming into the room as the shackles he was in seemed to sap his magic, but he wasn't opposed to physically hurting his captors. Harry held his breath as the door continued to open, and he snarled slightly when Draco entered the room, looking fresh and unbothered by his own kidnapping experience.

"You," Harry hissed, glaring at the blond. He was now thinking that Draco had gotten loose between their visits, and he was responsible for their capture.

"Is that any way to greet an old friend, Potter?" Draco chuckled as he entered the room.

Harry didn't answer as he watched with wide eyes as Lucius and Narcissa followed their son into the room. Behind him was a tall wizard with dark hair and glowing red eyes. Harry gaped at the wizard who was clearly Voldemort, amazed by how normal he looked. Upon his return, which Harry had witnessed, Voldemort had been pale, bald and slightly deformed, but now he looked like a normal wizard.

"I see you like the new me, Potter," Voldemort cackled. "The last time you saw me I was still recovering."

"And hiding," Harry spat, refusing to let Voldemort think he was scared of him. "Is that why your Death Eaters haven't seen you? You've been waiting until you looked more like a real human."

"What makes you think my Death Eaters haven't seen me?" Voldemort asked, cocking his head to one side. Slowly a smile crept over his face as he realised what Harry was talking about. "Ah Severus. You believed him when he said he hadn't seen me since the day of my return. I hate to break it to you, Harry, but it was all lies. Severus has seen me hundreds of times, as have my other followers."

"I knew he couldn't be trusted," Harry snarled.

"He's not the only one," a familiar voice called from the doorway.

Harry frowned in confusion as Hermione strolled into the room. She certainly didn't look like a prisoner, and she'd even been changed. Gone were her shapeless and boring clothes and in their place was a pair of tight black trousers and a clingy emerald green top. Her hair had been released from its ponytail and it fell over her shoulders in soft, slightly damp waves.

"Hermione?" He whispered, still confused as to what was happening.

"Haven't you gotten it yet, Harry?" Hermione asked with a cold laugh. "I'm the reason you're here. I caught you and sent you back for my father to deal with."

"Father?" Harry whispered, his eyes flicking towards Lucius.

"Not me," Lucius said with a laugh. "Although, I do expect to have the honour of being her father-in-law one day, and I do love her like a daughter."

"You and Malfoy," Harry spat, turning back to Hermione.

"Yes, Draco and I are together," Hermione confirmed with a grin. "And just in case you haven't yet worked it out, my father is The Dark Lord."

"No." Harry shook his head, not believing what he was hearing.

"Yes," Hermione replied. "If it's any consolation, things weren't supposed to end this way, Harry. None of this would be happening if you, Ron and Sirius hadn't taken Draco. You've really brought all of this on yourself."

"You won't break me," Harry said defiantly. "I will survive and the Order will save me."

"But the Order don't know where you are, Harry," Hermione pointed out. "And even if they did, they would be too late. There's going to be no mercy, Harry. You might not die today, but you will die very soon."

"You won't win," Harry said in a firm voice, even though he was terrified.

"We already have," Draco replied with a smirk. "With your death the Order will crumble and the dark will take control."

Harry opened his mouth to protest and argue that the rest of the Order would continue to fight, with or without him, but he didn't get anything out before he was hit by a strong blast of the Cruciatius curse from Voldemort's wand. Instead of words of protest, a cry came from Harry's lips as his knees gave out under the impact of the curse.

Hermione and Draco watched with glee as Harry yelled in agony under Voldemort's torture. Physically, Harry looked unhurt but Hermione knew he would be in agony inside. If his screams were anything to go by, he was certainly in plenty of pain.

"Would anyone else like a go?" Voldemort asked, lifting the curse as Harry gasped for breath on the floor.

"Who don't you go first," Hermione said, nudging at her boyfriend.

"Don't mind if I do," Draco replied with a grin as he raised his returned wand in his hands. "Crucio!"

Harry let out a loud squeal of pain as Draco's curse hit him before he'd even had a chance to recover from Voldemort's efforts. Draco put every ounce of his anger and long term hatred of Harry into powering his curse, and he was rewarded with Harry's screams of agony. However, holding the curse with such intensity was hard work and Draco had to stop sooner than he would have liked.

"Don't worry Draco, it'll be easier to maintain the curse with more practise," Voldemort said, seeing the disappointment on the blond's face. "Hermione, do you fancy a whirl?"

"Just you try and stop me," Hermione replied as she stepped forward. "I've wanted to do this a long time, Harry. Crucio!"

Harry's cries of pain seemed even louder as he was hit for the third time. Like Draco, Hermione used her anger and her natural darkness to fuel the curse she was throwing at Harry. Hermione was pleased she managed to inflict plenty of pain before she too found the curse too hard to hold and she was also forced to stop.

Hermione had barely moved away from Harry before Lucius was taking her place, and Harry found himself hit with a fourth curse. Like Voldemort, Lucius could hold the curse for quite a while and by the time he was finished, Harry was a sobbing mess on the floor. Surprisingly, Narcissa insisted on having her go once her husband was finished, and both Hermione and Draco were taken back by the force of her curse.

"Whoa, mother," Draco whistled.

"I am a dark witch, Draco," Narcissa replied with an elegant shrug. "I know how to cast a dark curse."

"And it was most impressive," Lucius said, shooting his wife a flirtatious smirk. "Very sexy."

Hermione rolled her eyes at the Malfoys as she turned back to her father. "Is that it for now?"

"Not quite," Voldemort said with a sigh. "I do believe I told you about my theory that I created a Horcrux when I killed the Potters."

"You did," Hermione confirmed with a nod. "You believe there's a one in Harry."

"I do," Voldemort said. "I had been hoping to find a way to remove it without destroying it, but we don't have time for that now. I only know of one way of destroying it."

"And what's that?" Draco asked.

"This," Voldemort replied, raising his wand and pointing it at Harry. "Avada Kedavra."

"Daddy," Hermione cried as the jet of emerald green light left her father's wand and hit Harry squarely in the back.

"I thought you didn't want him dead yet," Draco remarked.

"I don't," Voldemort answered, looking nervously at Harry. "I want Dumbledore to witness his death. If I'm right, I've merely destroyed the Horcrux inside him."

"And if you're wrong?" Hermione questioned.

"Then Potter's been dealt with," Voldemort replied with a shrug. "Why don't we move on and visit Potter on the way back."

"I think we should visit Black next," Lucius suggested. "I don't think he's got much more in him."

Lucius was proved right as they moved into the next room where Sirius was lying, bloody, bruised and suffering after hours of torture. Given his weakened state, Draco chose not to use the Cruciatius curse on Sirius, instead he settled on delivering a few swift kicks to the older wizard. By the time Draco had finished, Sirius was virtually unconscious and with a live victim waiting in Ron, Voldemort decided to put Sirius out of his misery with a quick killing curse.

"I'm looking forward to dealing with the Weasel," Draco said as they got ready to enter the final room.

"Me too," Hermione replied. It hadn't been too hard pretending to be Harry's friend, but there had been times it had been a real struggle acting as though she liked Ron.

"Do you want to lead this time, Hermione?" Voldemort asked his daughter.

"I'd love to," Hermione answered with a grin as she pushed open the door to Ron's cell.

Unlike Harry, Ron didn't look half as surprised to see her. In fact he looked more disappointed than shocked to see her entering the room with her family.

"It was you," Ron whispered, closing his eyes and shaking his head. "I tried to tell myself I was wrong. But it had to be you. You were the only one who could have stunned Harry."

"It was me," Hermione replied. "It's just a shame you didn't work out I was untrustworthy earlier. Instead you led me right to Draco so I could save him."

"We should have killed him when we had the chance," Ron muttered.

"You're many things Weasley, a killer isn't one of them," Draco said. "You don't know what it's like to be truly dark."

"No, I don't," Ron replied. "I'm not a monster."

"Monsters we may be, but you've only yourselves to blame for the predicament you find yourselves in," Hermione countered. "You're going to get what you deserve, Ron. You kidnapped the man I loved, so now you're going to pay."

Ron let out a bark of humourless laughter when Hermione referred to Draco as the man she loved, but his laughter turned to screams of agony as Hermione hit him with the Cruciatius Curse. After her earlier practice with Harry, she felt as though the curse had more power in it, and she was able to hold it for longer. By the time she did release the curse, Ron was already panting with pain.

"Now that was better," Hermione said with a malicious grin. "You should try it, Draco."

"I intend to," Draco said. "Crucio!"

Like Hermione, Draco felt the added power to his second try of the Cruciatius curse. He was also able to hold it for longer, and he felt much more satisfied when he dropped the curse and left Ron practically crying on the floor.

Not that Ron got any respite as both Lucius and Narcissa punished him for being party to their son's kidnapping, before Voldemort took his turn. After five rounds of torture, Ron was in bad shape and blood was seeping from his mouth from where he'd bitten through his tongue. After a group decision to end things and start planning for the final battle, Ron was put out of his misery by a blast of green light from Voldemort's wand.

"Let's check on Potter," Voldemort said. "We need to know if he's still alive before we start planning our next move."

Fortunately, Harry had survived the curse Voldemort had thrown at him, although he was in a pretty bad way. Voldemort and Lucius checked he wasn't going to die of his injuries in the night before heading upstairs to begin making plans for dealing with the rest of the Order. It took a couple of hours to sort a plan of action, and leaving Voldemort and Lucius to make the final arrangements, Draco and Hermione headed back to his room for the night. Hermione did have her own room in the manor, but she'd rarely used it since she and Draco had started their sexual relationship.

"It's good to have you back," Hermione said as she snuggled down in bed with Draco. "You may have only been gone a few days, but they were the longest days of my life. I never want to have to go through that again."

"You won't have to," Draco replied, pressing a kiss to the top of Hermione's head. "We'll be taking out the Order in a few days' time, and after that we're going to be in charge. Nothing can come between us again."

"Do you really think we can take out the Order?" Hermione asked.

"Maybe not all of them," Draco conceded. "But all we need to do is kill Dumbledore. As your father said, with him and Potter gone the Order are toothless. They'll have no leader, no golden boy, and they'll know just how you got into their numbers and destroyed them from the inside. The might try and rebel, but it won't come to anything."

"I hope you're right," Hermione said. "It would be nice to think that all this is coming to an end."

"It would," Draco agreed softly as the couple lapsed into silence and within minutes they were asleep in each other's arms, looking forward to the day the dark finally won the war and gained control of the wizarding world.


	8. Chapter 8

Two days after the dark gained possession of Harry and Ron, forces of Death Eaters began to quietly gather in Knockturn Alley. The plan was to make a fuss in Diagon Alley and draw out the Order. They knew from Severus, and from an owl sent to Hermione asking if she'd seen the boys, that the Order were worried about the pair. So far the Order hadn't made any approach to the dark to try and find Harry and Ron, but it was only a matter of time. Unfortunately for the light, the dark were going to strike first and the only way the light were going to see Harry and Ron again was when they were collecting their dead bodies for burial.

For two days, Voldemort and Lucius had worked on organising the attack with the Death Eaters. Everyone had a job, and they all knew what to do and when to do it. Voldemort knew exactly what he wanted to happen, and his Death Eaters knew better than to mess up and not deliver. Of course the Order could still mess things up, but Voldemort had a degree of flexibility to his plan, and providing he got to kill Dumbledore, he would be happy.

"All right, it's nearly time," Voldemort called once all his followers had gathered in Knockturn Alley. "Remember, I want panic and destruction. Let's save the fighting and death until the Order gets here."

Voldemort waited until everyone had their masks and robes in place, before he raised his wand and let out a wave of red sparks. The sparks were the signal to begin the attack, and with a loud war cry the Death Eaters began moving from Knockturn Alley into Diagon Alley. The dark force soon had customers and shopkeepers fleeing in terror as windows were smashed, holes blasted in buildings and small fires started.

Standing in the alleyway that joined the two streets, Voldemort watched his Death Eaters in action. As he wanted, they were causing panic and terror, but they weren't killing. It was true that Diagon Alley would need some work when they were finished, but hopefully the only people who would be killed today would be members of the Order. Voldemort didn't know how long it would be before the first of the Order arrived, so he was pleased to note his Death Eaters were taking their time with the destruction. At the moment they were creating the perfect air of panic and Voldemort couldn't be prouder.

"It's an impressive sight, isn't it?" He said, turning to the one remaining figure at his side.

"It is, My Lord," Draco replied, watching the melee with a smirk on his face. He would have loved to be part of the action, but Voldemort had wanted him and Hermione safe. Hermione also wasn't part of the action in Diagon Alley, although she would have more of a part to play in things than Draco would have. "How long do you think it'll be before the Order shows up?"

"Not long," Voldemort replied.

Less than two minutes later the first wave of the Order arrived. They immediately started fighting with the Death Eaters, but Voldemort didn't have a problem with that as there was still no sign of Dumbledore. All his Death Eaters knew that once Dumbledore appeared, things would change, but for the time being they could have fun tussling with the Order.

The Order appeared in dribs and drabs, obviously arriving as they'd found out about the attack. Voldemort was just wondering if Dumbledore was even going to show when suddenly the old headmaster appeared in the middle of the street, surrounded by a section of his most trusted Professors. Severus was among the Professors with Dumbledore, but Voldemort knew that he would slip into the Death Eaters ranks once Dumbledore was distracted.

"It's show time," Voldemort whispered to Draco, flashing him a quick grin before he stepped from the shadows and loudly made his presence known. "Dumbledore, how nice to see you."

"Tom," Dumbledore returned, turning to face Voldemort. Voldemort could see he was surprised to see him looking so well, but the old man quickly hid his surprise and replaced it with a look of disappointment.

"Do you want to call off your forces so we can talk," Voldemort called. "I have a few things to say that you might be interested in."

Voldemort wasn't sure if Dumbledore was going to call off the Order, but ever so slowly he raised his wand and shot sparks into the air. The sparks seemed to search out the Order members and float down around them, signalling them to stop the fighting. At the same time, Voldemort gave the order for his Death Eaters to fall back and within two minutes the Order were gathered in the middle of the street around Dumbledore while the Death Eaters lined the edges of the street, putting up a defensive shield as they did so.

"Well Tom, what do you have to say?" Dumbledore asked.

"Before we go any further, I'll set your minds at rest about your missing people," Voldemort began.

"Ron," Molly cried, lunging towards Voldemort and being held back by her husband. "You have my son, you bastard."

"Such fire," Voldemort laughed. "We do have your son. Lucius," he called loudly.

One of the Death Eaters over the other side of the street suddenly vanished and when he returned moments later, he was carrying Ron's lifeless body. Molly began to scream at the sight, but Lucius quickly placed him on the floor and returned to the ranks of watching Death Eaters. Ron's body was quickly swallowed up by the Weasleys, and several other members of the Order looked to be on the verge of tears.

"How could you Tom, he was a child," Dumbledore hissed angrily.

"He got what he deserved, as did Black," Voldemort returned. Turning to his left side, he subtly nodded to another one of his followers, who vanished and returned with the body of Sirius.

"No," Remus cried, rushing forward to claim his friend's body.

"I'm going to tell you a little story now," Voldemort said, chuckling slightly as Remus tried to throw a hex at him and was rebelled by the defensive field his Death Eaters had erected. "A few days ago, Black here decided to kidnap young Draco. He held him captive and with the help of Potter and Weasley he tried to infiltrate the manor. Obviously he was caught, and then we got Potter and Weasley to lead us to Draco. Clearly we saved Draco, and in exchange we got two extra prisoners."

"You were led to Draco by Harry and Ron? How?" Dumbledore questioned, focusing on the parts of Voldemort's story he didn't understand. To be honest the entire story angered him, and he was annoyed a plot to kidnap a teenager had been undertaken under his nose, but he wasn't going to let Voldemort see how shaken he was.

"Ah, that will be my other little surprise," Voldemort said, nodding to Draco who stood off to the side.

Draco vanished into the shadows and when he returned he was accompanied by Hermione, and in between them was a badly tortured Harry. Together they stepped into the light and moved to stand next to Voldemort, throwing Harry to the floor in front of them. By this point Harry was so badly injured it was all he could do to raise his head, let alone get up and fight.

"Hermione?" Dumbledore questioned with a frown. His first thoughts were that she was a prisoner, but she didn't look like a prisoner.

"Headmaster," Hermione replied, throwing him a smile which was exactly the same as the one her father had.

Dumbledore gasped as he spotted the similarity and quickly made the connection. He had no idea how Hermione was related to Voldemort, or even how they'd managed to hide it from him, but he was in no doubt that Hermione was part of The Dark Lord's family. And of course it explained how Harry and Ron had led the dark to Draco, as they would have trusted Hermione and never realised they were walking into a trap.

"I see you can see the resemblance," Voldemort chuckled. "Let me formally introduce my daughter, Hermione."

"You cold hearted little cow," Molly screamed, foaming at the mouth in anger. She had been sobbing over Ron's body, but her attention was diverted from her fallen son at the appearance of Hermione. "I'll get you for this."

"I don't think so," Hermione replied with a dismissive snort.

"What do you want Tom?" Dumbledore called, aware that Harry was still lying at Voldemort's feet and he needed help.

"You know what I want," Voldemort replied. "What I've always wanted. You gone. Without you, I would have changed the world years ago. You've always held me back, Dumbledore."

"And I will always be here to hold you back," Dumbledore said. "I won't let you win, Tom."

"And how do you plan to defeat me without your champion?" Voldemort asked, kneeling down and grabbing hold of Harry's head and raising it off the floor.

"No," Molly screamed, her cry echoed by several other members of the Order.

"Tom, don't," Dumbledore pleaded, taking a hesitant step forward. "You win. I'll let you take me and do what you want. Just let Harry live. He's an innocent here, just like your daughter. You clearly have a heart, Tom, use it."

"I do have a heart, but it only works for people who matter to me," Voldemort replied. "I don't give a jot about Potter's life, just like I don't give a jot about your life. If I let either of you live, you'll always be there trying to bring me down. Now why would I risk that, when everything I've worked so hard for is within my grasp? I'm sorry Dumbledore, but it's over."

Before Dumbledore, or anyone else for that matter, could react, Voldemort turned his wand on Harry and coldly shot the killing curse at the young wizard. Dumbledore let out a broken howl at the sight and he hurled himself towards Voldemort, firing off any curse and spell he could think of at the barrier that separated them. Eager to fight, Voldemort ordered Hermione and Draco to retreat, before he dropped the shield separating his forces from the light side.

Neither Hermione nor Draco wanted to retreat, but they'd given their word before Voldemort had allowed them to be at the battle, so they moved back into the safety of Knockturn Alley. Even though they were supposedly away from the fighting, they kept their wands out and they were alert for anyone heading in their direction. However, no-one was interested in the two teenagers as a full scale battle had begun on the streets of Diagon Alley.

Voldemort and Dumbledore were right in the centre of the fighting, trading spells and curses at a rapid pace. Other battles were also taking place around the pair, while the bodies of Sirius, Harry and Ron had been removed to safety by the Order. Hermione and Draco watched the spells flying and the destruction of Diagon Alley with wide eyes, never sure if they were watching the most interesting battle.

Eventually their eyes kept drifting back to where Dumbledore and Voldemort were duking it out. Hermione had every faith in her father, but she knew Dumbledore wasn't to be underestimated. Dumbledore may have been a great deal older than her father, but he'd defeated dark wizards in the past and he was currently fuelled with anger and grief at watching Harry lose his life.

"What if my father doesn't win?" Hermione shouted to Draco over the noise of the battles.

"You know what, we retreat to the manor," Draco replied, taking hold of his girlfriend's hand. Even though the dark didn't like to think they would lose, Voldemort had put a contingency plan into place and it was decided that if he fell, Hermione and Draco would return to the manor where Narcissa would get them to safety and Lucius would join them when or if he could. "But it's not going to happen," he added confidently. "Your father will win. Dumbledore will fall."

It took nearly half an hour, but finally Draco's prediction looked to be coming true. In that time several of the Order had fallen, and some had ran, but the battle between Voldemort and Dumbledore still raged. However, Dumbledore's age and Voldemort's willingness to use dark magic began to show in the battle and the dark wizard solidly began to take the upper hand.

"This is it," Hermione cried happily as Voldemort blasted Dumbledore through one of the remaining windows on the street and advanced on him.

From their position, Draco and Hermione couldn't see Dumbledore, but they could see Voldemort and they heard his battle cry as he flew at Dumbledore and shot the killing curse out of his wand. As the green light of magic hit Dumbledore a cheer rose among Voldemort's Death Eaters. Those who were still fighting weren't able to cheer, but the noise rattled the remaining members of the Order and a few more fell in the moments following Dumbledore's death.

Voldemort looked down at Dumbledore's body with a grin as he turned and raised his hands in victory. "Dumbledore is dead," he cried. "The Order have fallen."

His words were the signal to retreat and even though several of them were still fighting, the Death Eaters followed the instructions they'd been given and started to apparate away. The Order members that had still been present didn't bother trying to continue the fighting. They were defeated, and they were more than happy to see the backs of their enemies.

In the shadows of Knockturn Alley, Hermione and Draco shared a triumphant kiss before they too apparated to safety. It was a whole new world now, and only time would tell what would happen. Maybe the Order would regroup and keep fighting, or maybe they would fade away and see there was no point fighting without their leader and their saviour. Either way, it was the dark who was now in control, and for the foreseeable future, Voldemort and the dark were on top of the world.

And to think, it had all come about thanks to Sirius kidnapping Draco. A big battle, like the one that had just taken place, had always been inevitable, but thanks to Sirius, Ron and Harry, it had happened much sooner than anyone had imagined. In the space of a week, the wizarding world had changed and the war had been won. The dark had emerged triumphant, and the wizarding world was laid out at their feet, just ready for them to do whatever they liked with it.

 **The End.**

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 **A/N – So this is the end of Fools Rush In. I guess like all stories, I could have carried on, but I felt this was the right place to stop. Who knows, in the future I might even decide to write a sequel and explore what the wizarding world is like with Voldemort and the dark in control. But for now, this is the end and I hope people enjoyed this short dark story.**

 **As always, I want to thank people for reading, especially those who take the time to leave a review. There will be no new dark story next week, but I will be back the week after with a very long dark story. Until then, thanks for reading.**


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